Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

MR. Justice Clark delivered the opinion of the Court.

The question involved here is whether this treble damage action based on alleged violations of the restraint of trade and monopoly sections of the Sherman Law[1] was rightly terminated by a summary judgment of dismissal. The petitioner, Lou Poller, is the assignee of the Midwest Broadcasting Company, a dissolved corporation. In 1954 Midwest was the owner and operator of WCAN, an ultra high frequency (UHF)[2] broadcasting station [*466] located in Milwaukee. The station was affiliated with the Columbia Broadcasting System network and was of the alleged value of 12,000,000. Poller charged that the respondents in 1954 entered into an unlawful conspiracy to eliminate WCAN from the broadcast field in Milwaukee.[3] It was a part of the conspiracy that respondent Holt was to secure in his name an option to purchase WOKY, a competing but inferior UHF broadcaster in Milwaukee. When and if the Federal Communications Commission amended its multiple ownership rules, then under consideration, so as to permit CBS to own UHF stations in addition to its YHF ones, Holt was to assign his option to CBS if it so elected. In that event, it was agreed CBS would cancel its affiliation agreement with WCAN pursuant to its option in that contract and in due course consummate its purchase of WOKY. This would place WCAN in the precarious position of competing with the two major national networks with stations in Milwaukee. Being unable to survive such competition, its only course would be to liquidate at distressed prices its valuable equipment and facilities only recently acquired. CBS might then acquire them at its own price for use in its new operation which was necessary because of the inferior quality of those of WOKY. CBS would then have Midwest’s superior facilities and equipment which with the WOKY license would enable it to start broadcasting at a minimum expense and the least possible delay. Poller further claimed that the overall purpose of CBS was tó destroy UHF broadcasting, which had only been permitted to enter the field in 1952, in order to protect its vast interest in VHF stations throughout the United States. Finally, he alleged the conspiracy was so successful that CBS not only acquired WCAN at a loss of [*467] $1,460,000 to Midwest but that the latter was obliged to buy the facilities and equipment of WOKY at exorbitant prices and to agree to continue broadcasting from the latter’s premises — which was done “in order to pretend that there was no restraint of trade or elimination of competition . . . .” However, WCAN continued in business only 10 days after CBS started its broadcasts on February 17, 1955. CBS discontinued UHF broadcasting in 1959 when it became affiliated with a Milwaukee VHF station.

At the hearing on the motion for summary judgment the trial judge held that the injury suffered was damnum absque injuria, stating that CBS had a right to purchase WOKY, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, and to cancel its affiliation contract with WCAN. 174 F. Supp. 802. The Court of Appeals affirmed with Judge Washington dissenting, 109 U. S. App. D. C. 170, 284 F. 2d 599, and we granted certiorari, 365 U. S. 840. We now conclude that there was a genuine issue as to material facts and that summary judgment was not therefore in order.